Am I foolish for looking at these tanks?

[tito]

Am I foolish for possibly wanting to purchase either of the 20h tanks on this page? http://www.wetdryfilter.com/special_...-Ready%20Tanks

[latazyo]

you aren't foolish, but those are a terrible deal
20g H tank from Petco 39.99
Bulkheads (5x @ $9 (shipped) $45
overflow $50
hole drilling (5x @ $15) $75
silicone $3
total to do it yourself = $213 vs $290
thats $77 bucks, you can pretty much build a stand and canopy for free or else an entire retro kit for lighting

convenience factor is something to consider, however in this hobby most of the pleasure and satisfaction comes from DIY projects, and like I mentioned, the $77 bucks you save would give you a number of things "for free"...retro kit, closed loop pump, canopy/stand materials, etc etc etc, hell you could even do the unthinkable and buy a coral from a pet store for full price

[thegrimreefer]

$hee$h, what a price! The mere fact that you're con$idering it make$ me want to go into production on tho$e babie$ and $ee how many I could $ell!

[JnS]

for what a sump?

[David Grigor]

Ditto can be done for $50-60 bucks. Most of it being the cost of the glass tank. Can easily find arcylic scraps for $1 a pound to create the baffles ( if needed ) and the top cover ( if needed ). $3 tube of silicone ( not mildew resistant ) to use with a caulk gun. Don't need fancy bulkheads for the tops. With acrylic just drill an oversized hole for the pvc to fit through. If you really want more of an air tight fittings for the tops, you can use uniseals for those for $2 each.

Baffles you may find you don't need ANY baffles ( depending on the amount of flow through the sump ) to dissapate the bubbles which make it even easier.

[tito]

For my display JnS .

[oyam123]

YES You Are!
this is the tank for you! FRAG CITY!

[David Grigor]

For a show tank, can build somethine simliar from acrylic ( mostly even scraps ) for much cheaper. Put as many holes in it as you want with a standard wood hole saw.

or

get a glass tank from petco, and a $40 glass drill bit and drill as many holes as you want in it.

[tito]

David Grigor - It would be neat to build a little acyrlic tank but I have no experience in the acrylic field except for making baffles in a sump.

[David Grigor]

You won't know until you try.....It's not difficult...just some of your time....and a decent table saw. Always best to practice with a sump first because it doesn't have to look pretty.

[tito]

The last time I cut acyrlic with a table saw the saw didn't like the taste so it threw the piece back at me and got me in the gut . I think I was forcing the piece to fast and not to mention I had a ripping blade (24t?) in there.

[tito]

Where does everyone buy their diamond bit hole saws?

[goetzc]

Spazz and others can probably build you a tank if you really don't want to DIY.
If you do go glass, superman could drill it for you... ...or you could use the dremel/rotozip method which works great in a pinch.

Chris

[David Grigor]

There is a regular ebay seller that has good prices.

The website I bought mine at 2 years ago appears to not be a valid link anymore.....